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High Rise
High Rise is the first studio EP by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, which was released on October 8, 2013 through Play Pen, LLC. It is the first release by the band to not feature former lead vocalist Scott Weiland, who was fired from the band in February 2013. It instead features his lead vocal replacement Chester Bennington of Linkin Park and Dead by Sunrise, and the band is credited on the EP as Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington. Background On February 27, 2013, Stone Temple Pilots fired their lead vocalist Scott Weiland. Weiland responded to the firing with his own statement, "I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press. Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out." He has since made several claims that he is still legally a member of the band and that the band has no right to perform under the Stone Temple Pilots moniker with another singer. They have since replaced Weiland with Bennington on the vocals. The firing has since resulted in legal action. The three remaining members (guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer Eric Kretz) have sued Weiland to prevent him from calling himself a former member of STP. Weiland counter-sued the other three members for wrongfully attempting to expel him, for misleading the public by referring to their performances with Bennington as STP, and to dissolve the band STP. Both lawsuits are ongoing. On May 18, 2013, Stone Temple Pilots performed their debut concert with Bennington, appearing as special guests at the 21st Annual KROQ Weenie Roast, benefiting Heal the Bay. They performed a new song, "Out of Time". The next day, the band released a free download of the song "Out of Time" via their official website. The updated website also featured new promotional pictures of the band including Bennington. Coincidentally, Bennington had exclaimed years before in interviews that singing lead vocals in Stone Temple Pilots was his lifelong dream. Weiland's former Velvet Revolver band mate Slash has praised the band's decision to replace Weiland with Bennington. Bennington said in May of new material that the band would not likely record a full-length studio album in the near future, explaining: "We don't have a label. Everything we're doing is on our own, so we're just taking it one track at a time. We would love to sit down and hammer out a record, but the reality is we're gonna make music, we're gonna make a lot of it, and we're gonna be in a position to release a single at a time, go out and really give people music the way they want to get it." This may explain the band's decision to release an EP as opposed to a full album. On October 3, 2013, Stone Temple Pilots and Bennington's complete stream of the EP can be seen and heard on Pandora Radio for Pandora Premieres, including the singles "Out of Time" and "Black Heart" that are featured on the EP officially. Reception Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave High Rise a favorable review, writing that "these songs are expertly sculpted, playing upon the kind of riffs and melodies that made the group alt-rock titans in the '90's, and still sounding somewhat irresistible even when they're po-faced." In its review, Sputnikmusic questioned the band's decision to not change its name and said that with Bennington on vocals, "it's clear by the opening track...that this is a completely different band." However, the site gave the album a 3.0 "good" rating and stated that tracks "Same on the Inside" and "Tomorrow" "contain both the hooks and the riffs that made STP such a great band to begin with." AlternativeNation.net also praised the album, writing that "High Rise is pop rock bliss and should please STP fans who have enjoyed the band’s ventures into poppier territory." Montreal Gazette gave High Rise a mixed review, awarding it 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "High Rise gives us the springy, bass-driven songs we’ve come to expect from STP. But again, the results are inconsistent...basically, High Rise is almost the STP we remember." Commercial performance High Rise debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,520 copies in its first week. "Out of Time" was used as the official theme song to WWE's Hell in a Cell. Singles "Out of Time" is their first single in collaboration with Chester Bennington, and without Scott Weiland. The song was performed live at the 21st Annual KROQ Weenie Roast, benefiting Heal the Bay, and the band was also announced as a surprise guest for the May 19, 2013 Live 105 BFD festival near San Francisco. On the same day, Chester took the stage surprisingly at the KROQ Weenie Roast with the band when they parted ways with Scott Weiland on February 27, 2013. The set list included original Stone Temple Pilots songs as well as a new song with Bennington on vocals called "Out of Time" which debuted that same day and was available as a free download. "Black Heart" is their second and current single released on September 18, 2013, which can be heard on iHeart Radio. It is the band's second track with Bennington, who is currently fronting Stone Temple Pilots. The lyrics have been revealed as well for the track. A lyric video was released on September 23 via the band's official YouTube channel, entitled "STP". An acoustic video of the song can be seen on YouTube. An official yet a fanmade music video was released on April 12, 2014 on the band's official YouTube and Vimeo accounts, which was directed by Glendon & Isabella. Track Listing All songs written and composed by Chester Bennington, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz. * On the back of the CD for the EP, the time lengths for songs "Out of Time" takes over by 3:30, "Black Heart" by 3:15, "Same on the Inside" by 3:17, and "Tomorrow" by 3:32, which are all wrong. Personnel Band * Chester Bennington - lead vocals * Dean DeLeo - guitars * Robert DeLeo - bass, backing vocals * Eric Kretz - drums Additional personnel * Production by Stone Temple Pilots * Recorded at Homefry Studios * Recorded & Engineered by Russ Fowler * Assistant Engineer: Jared Hirshland * Studio Guitar Tech: Bruce Nelson * Studio Drum Tech: Jarrett Borba * Mixed by Ben Grosse at The Mix Room in Burbank, California * Mix Assistant: Paul Pavao * Mastered by Tom Baker at Baker Mastering in Calabasas, California * Original “Check It” Image Art Work by Chester Bennington * Band Photo by Chapman Baehler * Layout Design by Great Daane Graphics * Published by ChesterChaz Publishing (BMI)/Brain Tan Music (ASCAP)/I, Myself And Me (ASCAP)/Fast Fog Music (ASCAP) * Chester Bennington appears courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Category:Stone Temple Pilots Discography